


the love at the end of the world

by kimoi



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Post-Apocalyptic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-04-21
Updated: 2012-06-05
Packaged: 2017-11-04 02:17:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/388600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimoi/pseuds/kimoi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being the only two people left on earth kinda sucks sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the update happened and then this happened! oops!

It was the end of the world, as they knew it. But neither of them felt as fine as they would have hoped.  
  
They had trekked respective treks, fought respective battles, waged respective badassery whenever it was necessary. When the world had ended and they were the only ones left, a mutual decision of 'find me' had settled. Roxy, with her trusty rifle and a few bottles of her favourite vodka - and Dirk, with a stockpile of swords and as many bottles of Orange Crush that he could fit into his sylladex... they set out, agreeing to meet in what was once considered Chicago.  
  
It was hard being one of two sole survivors of the Condescension. It was hard and very literally, no one understood. It was probably a bad idea for Roxy to have sprung her feelings on Dirk upon their decision, the five-minute silence from him had made her panic far more than anything else ever had. It needed to be said. He had to know. She had to tell him, he had to know in case... they didn't make it. To one another, to any point where it could have mattered. When he didn't outrightly put her down those arduous, anxious five minutes later she could have cried, but was too busy preparing her sylladex for the long trek she had ahead of her.  
  
Dirk had similar sentiments, even with his feelings for Jake. The amplification of the 'we really are alone, aren't we' prospect had seated in him a sort-of desperation. He hadn't promised the girl anything but he hadn't shoved it out of his mind completely, deciding that once they met up he would be too tired, too lonely, too hardened and cynical to make anything but an honest decision. He'd told her this and she had been okay with it; the chance to meet with him, even under such dire circumstances, had given her something to hope for. He couldn't take that away from her. As the old adage came and went, love is all you need.  
  
She'd only gotten a handful of hours out of the city before her mother's car had run out of gas, not bothering to try and refuel it she instead stopped off at an abandoned corner store, taking short inventory of her things and cramming as much food as she could into her own sylladex. Roxy didn't know how long this would take. She didn't know how much she would need, or what might be taken from her by the drones - if they found her. She'd avoided a few of them on the way to this location, having to put her mad driving skills to the test. The big secret was she had never drove anywhere at length before. Whoops. To help her out, Dirk had thrown together a program to let the AR inhabit her phone  - and right now he was serving as a wonderful GPS for her. She was grateful for the company, but somehow it served to make her even more depressed about the whole thing.  
  
Dirk managed to get further than she had, his truck ((and the can of gasoline he had in the bed of it)) getting him ten hours or so into his journey. When he gave up on the vehicle, he began hoofing it - AR helping him with directions, too.  
  
\-- autoResponder [AR] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] --  
AR: End of the world, huh.  
AR: Tricksy business.  
TT: Yeah, that it is. How's our time?  
AR: You got a pretty good start already. Walking by itself would take 12 days. I think you've taken a considerable chunk out of that. You're in Alton, IL now. 3 days of walking for you.  
TT: Good to know. How's Rox?  
AR: Not so fortunate. She only managed to get about 4 hours driving time out of her mom's car.  
TT: No refueling?  
AR: A bit too despondent to learn how.  
AR: She's never driven before.  
TT: Shit.  
TT: How's she doing?  
AR: She's in Canada.  
TT: At least she won't have to deal with Canucks.  
TT: Canooks?  
TT: Is there an actual spelling for that?  
AR: You're an ass, Dirk. But you're heading in the right direction at least.  
TT: No more of an ass than you are.  
AR: Touché. Rox's got 7 days of walking ahead of her.  
TT: Keep an eye on her, okay? Let me know if she runs into trouble.  
AR: Will do.  
\-- autoResponder [AR] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] --  
  
Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Dirk gave his orange pickup a loving pat on the hood, sighing.  
  
"We'll meet again one day, old girl. Be good." And he set off.


	2. Chapter 2

Roxy had managed to narrowly avoid a set of drones not too far down the road back there, panting heavily as she ducked inside the bed of an old pickup. Against better judgement she pulled one of her wizard cat plushies from her bag, hugging it to herself. Pulled her phone out, too. The pester window was still open.  
  
TG: im sscared ar  
TG: idk if i can do this  
AR: You can do this, babe.  
AR: I believe in you.  
AR: You don't have much of a choice.  
TG: btu waht if i dont make it  
AR: You have to.  
AR: How else are you going to finally tell Dirk how you feel face to face?  
  
He was right. She put her cat plushie away and sighed. There was no going back, no backing down. Her face was set in a look of determination as she stood, pocketing her phone. Two of the group of drones that had been looking for her before were still lolligagging around. Swinging her arm behind her she reached into her sylladex, pulling out one of the glass bottles.  
  
"Ey!" she called to the drones, loud enough for them to hear her. They turned, a metallic hissing noise leaving them as they spotted her, flying towards her. "Yeah, s'right, bring it, bitches!" She smashed the bottle open on the edge of the bed of the truck, extracting the card and pulling her rifle from it. She leaned back against the cab, smirking to herself. The drones were approaching swiftly, the pattern of their flight nearly throwing her off a bit. But she was good, and in a second had lined up her shot, taking one out. "Yeahhhh!" she cried, swinging down out of the truck bed and high-tailing it to her next cover point. There was a low overhang of concrete a sprint away, and she dove under it, the drone buzzing and hissing not too far behind. Readied her shot. /Pow/. The thing made some high mechanical screeching sound before it fell to the ground, sparking and twitching. It seemed incapacitated, but not 'dead'. Watching it for about ten minutes to make sure it wasn't going to get back up, she crossed to it warily, crouching down to inspect it. Not hesitating for another moment, she pulled a screwdriver out of her sylladex, and began taking it apart.

 

  
\-- autoResponder [AR] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] --  
AR: She's scared, Dirk.  
TT: She's not the only one.  
AR: You? Scared? If I had eyebrows, they'd be lofted quite... loftily.  
TT: It's hard not to be. I'm not worried about finding other people, or more of the drones, but I'm scared for her.  
AR: I'd be concerned if you weren't.  
TT: She's a good kid.  
AR: I know.  
AR: She'll be alright.  
  
His hike was, for all intents and purposes, boring so far - he hadn't run into anything dangerous, and he'd managed to scrape together a few rations for himself to keep him going. After nearly 10 hours though, he finally decided to take a hint from the sun's set and bunker down for the night. Finding himself with an insane amount of luck, he'd come across an abandond camper. One of the nice ones, with a sink and bathroom and everything. When the end of the world hit the owners must have been planning on trying to escape, so it was fully loaded - he'd check the gas level in the morning. But for now, he stretched out on the bed near the back, and brought up another window on his shades.  
  
\-- timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] --  
TT: Rox.  
TT: You doing alright?  
TG: yeha im ok  
TG: took otu a few dronse  
TG: got wiskced parts from em  
TT: You took one apart?  
TT: Furthermore, you killed some of them?  
TT: I'm proud of you.  
TG: ehehe well im p good w/a frfiel you knwo  
TG: *rifle  
TT: As I recall.  
TT: Find anything useful?  
TG: actuatlt  
TG: i hacked teh one i didnt totally anifhilate  
TG: got myself a friend  
TT: ...You reprogrammed one?   
TG: yaha  
TT: More importantly, you touched something belonging to Crockercorp and you didn't burst into flames?  
TT: I am even more impressed.   
TG: i am juts as surprised as u are  
TG: but yeah its kidna useful  
TG: been keepin shit off my bakc all night  
TG: was easy to rperogram the fuckin homing beacon it ahd on me  
TG: the other onse kidna freak otu now when threy nearby if teh one i have doesnt kill em first  
TT: Good.  
TT: I'm about to drop though, so I'm going to let you go for now. I just wanted to check up on you.  
TT: You get some sleep too, okay? If you can find someplace safe.  
TG: i will  
TG: mr bojagnels has my back  
TG: *bojangles  
TT: I can't do much from here, but don't hesitate to talk to myself or the AR if you need anything.  
TG: can do echif  
TG: i knwo u dont like me saying it now but  
TG: im scaredd so im gonna say it anywya  
TG: i love u  
TT: I know.  
TT: Goodnight, Roxy.  
\-- timaeusTestified [TT] has ceased pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] --  
  
He laid back, arms folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling of the vehicle. It wasn't exactly that he didn't like her saying it. He actually didn't mind it in the slightest. But whenever she said it, it had some sort-of finality to it that made him uncomfortable. Dirk was willing to cut her some slack, though - he greatly appreciated Roxy wanting her last words to him to be something sweet and sentimental, rather than something inconsequential and pointless. Not that he ever wanted to think of anything she had to say being her last words, but in times like these one couldn't be too careful. He had faith in her that she'd find shelter for the night. Especially since she managed to wrangle one of the drones for herself. Dirk hadn't emphasized it nearly enough, but he was wildly impressed and amazed at her skill. He turned over on his side, resting his shades on the opposite pillow, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Roxy found similar but not quite as accomodating solace in the corner of the same convenience store she had scavenged not too long ago, using her backpack as a pillow and her hoodie as a blanket. The drone's low buzzing was oddly comforting, and it was that sound that eventually lulled her to sleep.

 

Against all odds she had slept soundly, waking to her phone chirping at her. It was AR. 

 

\-- autoResponder [AR] began pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] --

AR: Hey princess.

AR: Sleep okay?

TG: yehhah I jguess

AR: How's the battle droid?

TG: p good still

TG: i wsa thinkign tho

TG: u think im good enughf to like

TG: put u inside fo it?

AR: Like a big CPU?

TG: ya y not

TG: eh has to comminiccaete w teh batterswitchc somehow rite

TG: u could probably talk n shit too

AR: Can you handle something like that now?

TG: y not

AR: You're under a lot of stress.

TG: kepes me busy at leats ritght

AR: I'd suggest traveling a bit, first. Don't stay in one place too long.

TG: u take such good careof me

AR: Because I care about you.

AR: We both do.

TG: good

AR: Get a move on, princess.

 

\-- autoResponder [AR] ceased pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] --

 

With that in mind, she gathered her things, whistling to the robot for it to follow her.

 

Dirk awoke not too long after that conversation, thanking many a lucky star that he hadn't been attacked in the middle of the night. It was hotter than it had been yesterday, and it wasn't even noon yet. He pulled off his shirt, stepping out of the camper to inspect the vehicle. It seemed to be in perfectly working order aside one of the tires being a little low, and a few cosmetic damages here and there. He climbed back into the cab to check the gas level. The keys were still in the ignition and it sent a small chill through him, the blonde stopping to stare at the keyring. There had been people here. Inside this camper. Trying to escape. Had they been pulled out of it kicking and screaming? Had the Condesce made her drones order them out onto the road, sit in a line? Had they all been killed at once on the spot, or one by one? Had they been taken elsewhere to be killed?

 

TT: Roxy.

TT: Roxy. Hey.

TT: Fuck, Roxy. Don't do this.

TG: wahat im here

TT: Okay. Sorry. I got spooked by something.

TG: yuo what

TT: I got spooked by something.

TT: Let's not make a public broadcast about it.

TG: nonononop i thikn i have to

TG: channel 13 pbs wehre they shwo stupid elementary school christmssa cocnerst and useless text flashes abotu what the 4h club is doign for arbor day

TG: hale mayr school of whatever the fucks is goign on a field grip to a feild

TG: senior citizens get alhf off @ famous footwer todya only from 9 am to noon but only on shoes w/velcro that are beige

TG: drink strirrder is spooked

TT: Are you finished?

TG: ur public libraray is acecpting donations on used newspapers

TG: ok now i am

TG: nwo tell momma rxoy what haopend

TT: If you're just going to belittle my apprehension when you know it is a rare occurrence I might as well not even tell you.

TG: nooooo ok im sorry

TG: pls tell me

TG: pls im rely soryr

TT: I found a camper.

TG: so s ti a haunted camper or s/t

TT: ...

TG: omg no im sorry i maek jokes when ima xnious

TT: The keys are still in the ignition.

TT: There were people in this camper, Roxy. Getting ready to get the hell outta Dodge.

TT: Something stopped them.

TT: I don't... Like thinking about that.

TG: dotn think about it

TG: theres nothing u could have done

TT: I know.

TT: I'm going to continue checking the camps out though. Be safe.

TG: u too

TG: <3

TT: You too.

 

The tank was full. Last test was getting it started.


End file.
